Run
by MoiraC
Summary: For all of her life, all Arianna has wanted is to be normal. But unfortunately, she is not. She is cursed, with what she doesn't say, but her curse has caught the attention of all the government agencies, specifically Team Rocket. But after she runs into a Trainer and starts to lay down roots, her life and secrets become endagered. Will Arianna choose to stay or will she run?
1. Prologue

Life really seems to snap into perspective when you're running for your life. Your lungs are on fire, your limbs are numb, and no matter how many times thorny braches slap into your face or slash your arms, you keep on going. The adrenaline rushing through your body is extrodinary; you feel incinvible...to a point at least. Even with the adrenaline, you start to feel like the hunted instead of the hunter. The demonic screams of derranged, brainwashed Pokemon behind you don't exactly help either.

But that was exactly how I felt. I felt like a superhero, so strong and mighty, while still feeling like prey. It's so funny how it all works out.

I could hear the shouts and orders coming from Team Rocket as they trailed behind me, trying to catch up. I also couldn't help but hear the familiar sound of opening pokeballs and the names of many pokemon being slurred together. From the jumble, I was able to pick out Arbok and Staravia.

I forced myself to run faster. I was running out of options, and the one trick up my sleeve I was saving until the last minute.

I could hear the Pokemon getting dangerously close, and even though I was faster than humans and most Pokemon, I still had to make sure I kept my distance between them.

After a few minutes, we were nearing a cliff. A knot formed in my stomuch. I was pushing my luck with jumping, but I had no choice; I HAD to jump.

A feral snarl escaped the lips of Pokemon as it lunged for me, but I had reached the edge of the cliff. I jumped off and fell for a few feet before using my last trick. My eyes turned a deep red and I smiled.

It had begun.


	2. 1

*3 years later*

I scanned the area before walking out of the woods, still being cautious. I had just run from Snowpoint, traveled through Mt. Coronet, and eventually ended up in Hearthome City. I had lost Team Rocket and Galactic somewhere north of Snowpoint, and I had kept running, wanting to put as much distance between us. Granted, I hadn't had an incident in three years and I wasn't in the middle of a man-hunt, but that doesn't mean Team Rocket or any other of those agencies stop attacking Trainers in the middle of nowhere.

As I got further into the city, I pulled my hood further up, shielding my face from the citizens. I was just going to stay a few nights, after that, I would have to move out again.

After asking a few people for directions, I made my way to a hotel. I went in and paid for the night, not knowing how long I was staying. Once I got up to my room, I plopped down on the bed, my adrenaline wearing off. Now, I was feeling the numbness in my legs and the fatigue of my body. I curled up on the bed and laid there, staring at the wall. The room had a TV, dresser, desk, and a balcony. It was a fairly basic, yet very nice room. After staring a little longer at the room, I pulled out my one pokeball. It was the basic red and white, but that didn't matter. The one pokemon and friend that I had was in here, and I was happy to have him.

An hour passes of me just clearing up my thoughts before I finally pass out. While I slept, my dreams were filled with memories of today warped into the twisted nightmares I have lived with for my entire life.

I wake up the next morning with the sun shining in my eyes, my body stiff from the running and being curled up in a ball all of last night. I stretched and sat up, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and stretching again.

I get up from the bed and put the few things I owned into my backpack, including my pokeball. I walked out of the room and down to the lobby. I thanked the people at the front desk before heading out into the city, looking for a place to get breakfast. Soon, I find a little coffee shop and I walk in. I get in line and wait. When I get to the front, I order a bagel and a small latte. Once my order is put in, I go find a small table in the corner, only planning to sit there until my order is ready.

"One bagel and small latte!" an employee calls out. I get up and head over the counter. I grab the bagel and latte and walk outside.

In a matter of minutes, I finish the bagel and the latte. I threw away the wrapper and cup in the garbage and start to wander around Hearthome City. Since I was going to be here for a few days, I might as well do a little sight seeing.

As I wandered, I saw several Trainers wandering about, looking to challenge anyone they thought would be a good rival. I smiled a little, but my heart ached. It had always been my dream to be Trainer. But because of who I was, I could never fufil that dream. Oh well, I at least had Shadow. Shadow was my first and only pokemon, and he was my best friend. Yeah I know, your first pokemon is always your best friend, but Shadow was my only friend and the person, technically pokemon, who had always been there for me.

I ended up in front of Contest Hall, which looked like a giant colleseum. I started debating about going inside, but ended up going inside. Considering the architechture of the building, there might be some history involved. I walked up the steps and into the Contest Hall, hoping to find something interesting inside.

I had spent the day looking around the city. Now, the sun was setting and I was getting a little tired. I decided to head back to the hotel and turn in for the night, maybe watch a little TV.

My mind started thinking about things and I wasn't exactly paying attention, and in a few minutes, I bumped into someone, hearing a loud OOF and a small cry. I stumble back and look up, seeing a guy about my height standing in front of me, rubbing the back of his head. From the looks of it, he was a Trainer. He wore a backpack, had a utility vest, wore a belt that held pokeballs, and had a Riolu sitting on his shoulder.

My eyes widened and I said, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to bump into you, I wasn't watching-"

He shook his head. "No, it's fine," he said. He looked at me and smiled. "Besides, I was kind of going a little fast." He held out his hand and said, "My name's Roy, and this is Riolu."

I gave him a small smile and shook his hand. "Arianna," I said quickly. I scolded myself for talking too fast. I had told myself to give people a fake name instead of my real name, just in case they were working for Team Rocket or another agency.

Roy smiled. "Pretty name," he said.

"Thanks," I said quietly. "So you're a Trainer right?"

He nodded and said, "Yeah, I've been one for about 3 years. You?"

"Well," I say, "I don't think I'm a Trainer. I only have one Pokemon and I don't battle every person I run across."

Roy smiles and said, "Hey, not all Trainers are like that. I didn't challenge you, so therefore-"

"But I bet you used to do that, didn't you?" I asked, smirking slighlty.

Roy sighed dramatically and said, "Yeah, I did...but I got professional help and now I resist the urge to do that."

I laughed and said, "Well that's a good thing I guess."

He grinned, giving me a thumbs up. "I've been incident free for two years," he said.

I laughed even harder and when I could actually talk, I said, "Has anyone ever told you you're funny?"

Roy nodded. "Yes, several times in fact," he told me. "Though most people think I'm obnoxious rather than funny."

"Well that too bad," I told him, smiling. "You're really funny."

"Why thank you," Roy said, taking a small bow.

I chuckled and shook my head. "So do you live here or are you a traveler?" I asked him.

"I'm just passing through," he said. "I was heading down to Sandgem Town. My mother lives there and she wants me to come and visit her."

"Cool! I'm going to Sandgem Town too," I tell him, lying. I started regretting lying about that, but going to Sandgem actually wouldn't be that bad of an idea. It's a small, quiet town where I could hide out for awhile. That, and Professor Rowan was there, and he was the closest thing I had to family before I left my house. He also was very understanding of my...problem.

Roy's face lit up and he said, "No way! That's so aweseome! Do you have family there or something?"

_More like 'or something',_ I think to myself. "My family is all dead," I tell him. "I'm just visiting an old friend."

Roy's face fell and he said, "Oh. I'm sorry to hear about your family. And sorry for bringing it up-"

I shake my head and give him a small smile. "It's fine," I tell him. "They've been gone for awhile now, and it really doesn't bother me."

Roy smiles a little and gives me a short nod. "So where are you staying?" he asks.

"The hotel," I tell him. "You?" I asked.

"I got in this morning and decided to do a little sight seeing," he said, "I really haven't had much of a chance to get a place yet."

"Well c'mon then," I say, smiling. "They gave me a really large room, one that can hold about 3 or 4 people. You can stay in my room."

"I don't know," Roy said. "I mean, I don't want to intrude-"

"It's okay," I tell him. "Besides, I kind of owe you for bumping into you."

Roy chuckles and says, "You don't have to worry about that. But okay, I'll stay with you."

I smile at him and say, "Let's go then!"

He laughs and follows me to the hotel. I really had no idea why I was being so nice to him; I was usually really wary and cautious of people. I'd never usually let a random person I met stay in my room, let alone carry on this long of a conversation.

We get to the hotel and after dropping our stuff off, Roy offers to buy me dinner. At first, I object, but after a few minutes of aruging, I finally say okay and we head out of the hotel.

We end up at a noodle shop and Roy is soon greeted by the shop owner the two embrace and start talking. I assumed the two had met before or were family or something like that considering the conversation they were having. After a few minutes, the shop owner sat us down at a table and went back to the back and got us two noodle bowls.

As we waited for our noodle bowls, I asked, "So you're friends with the shop owner?"

Roy nodded. "I came through Hearthome when I first started my journey and helped save his Pokemon and shop from Team Galactic," he told me.

"That's really cool," I say, smiling.

"It was also really scary," Roy said. "But I was intent on helping him, so I helped. I also had Riolu and my starter Pokemon with me, so it wasn't as hard as it could have been."

I nod and then ask, "Who was your starter Pokemon?"

"Turtwig," Roy responded. "He's evolved since then, so now he's a Torterra."

"Wow," I say. "He must be really powerful."

Roy nodded. "He is. So how many Pokemon do you have?" he asked.

"Uh, one," I say, lying a little. It was true, I only had one Pokeball, but my special circumstances technically added an extra Pokemon.

"Really?" he asked. "Interesting." Our noodle bowls came and after we thanked him, Roy asked, "So who is it?"

"A Gardevoir." I tell him, grabbing a bit of noodles.

"Really?" Roy asked in slight disbelief. "How'd you do that without having another Pokemon?"

"Um, I used to have another Pokemon," I said lying, "a Pikachu. In fact, he was my starter Pokemon, Anyway, Team Rocket ganged up on me awhile after I captured Gardevoir. While trying to take Pikachu away, they ended up killing him, so yeah..."

Roy's eyes widened and practically dropped his chopsticks. "Oh my gosh," he said, "I'm so sorry. If I had known, I wouldn't have asked. That must have been hard for you."

I nodded. "It was," I said quietly, continuing on my lie. Well, technically, it wasn't a lie. That actually had happened to my mom, just not to me.

Roy nodded and continued eating his noodles. After a few minutes, I out of the blue asked, "So do you battle often?"

Roy looked up at me and said, "Kind of. Why?"

"I was wondering if you'd want to battle tomorrow?" I asked. "I'm heading out for Sandgem Town tomorrow afternoon, so maybe we can do it in the morning- that is, if you're okay with battling."

"I'm fine with a battle," Roy said. "But wouldn't it be unfair? I mean, I have a lot more Pokemon than you do-"

"We can always do one on one," I tell him."

"I know," he said, "but...I don't know. I feel kind of bad about battling you-"

"Are you saying that I can't beat you?" I ask, smirking slightly.

Roy blushed a little and started to back peddle. "Er, no. I mean, I don't know how skilled you are and I, uh-"

I laugh and say, "It's okay Roy. I was just teasing you." Teasing? Laughing? With a guy that I didn't really know?! Oh my gosh, what was happening to the shy conservative girl I was a few hours ago?

Roy smiled and let out a sigh of relief. "Yeah, I knew that..."

I chuckled and shook my head, finishing up my noodles. "So how about it? Wanna battle tomorrow?"

Roy smiled and said, "You're on."


End file.
